Monday, October 4, 1999 Published at 16:29 GMT 17:29 UKUKMore staff for Brixton jailStaff said they could not cope with the number of disturbed prisonersPrisons Minister Paul Boateng has promised more staff for Brixton jail, following reports of multiple suicide attempts and a crisis in the prison's medical wards.

After a two-hour visit to the prison, Mr Boateng said more temporary staff and agency nurses would be drafted in.

"I'm satisfied that there have been deficiencies which simply are not acceptable," he said.

He said healthcare reforms in prisons were already under way, adding the situation at Brixton was "simply not tolerable".

In the last four weeks, 21 Brixton inmates have tried to kill or seriously injure themselves.

The governor, Robert Chapman, had warned that someone could die if healthcare facilities in the jail are not improved. He wrote to the Prison Service, threatening to refuse to accept prisoners with mental illnesses unless immediate action was taken.

Overcrowding and a lack of staff trained to deal with disturbed inmates are said to be at the root of the prison's problems.

Paul Boateng: Emergency visit

Staff are no longer able to cope with the number of prisoners who have mental illnesses or who need treatment for drug abuse.

In his letter, Mr Chapman said the situation was now so severe that bandages and dressings were not being changed and inmates with severe mental illness were being locked up for 23 hours a day.

"I feel we are in a no-win situation. We have no control over the numbers of prisoners requiring medical treatment entering the establishment, and yet if a tragedy occurs no one will thank us for having soldiered on in an impossible situation," he said.